[1980 “foolies” rear axle replacement]

On 2/24/2021 at 11:15 AM, WME said:

Yea the axle looks strong,but its the mounting that's the problem. If you look at the spring clamp u bolts you can see where one is rubbing against the brackets and that its moving sideways. An axle moving sideways going around corners is not a good plan.

The problems I see from the photos are, that the tag axle is setup with a quarter elliptic spring that is designed/mounted wrong, The mechanical problems are broken airbag, broken shock mount. These last 2 are relatively easy to fix. Are there brakes on the tag, if yes what kind, electric or hydraulic? 

 

 

On 2/20/2021 at 6:08 AM, fred heath said:

OK. Weight is the next thing. Judging from the picture I don’t think you’ll be able to get away with singles on the drive axle. The rear half of the home weight has to be less than 4K lbs to run singles.

I’ve never seen how the tag axles were installed. Take some pictures of the tag axle and how it attaches to the frame. Your tag axle setup is fairly rare. Not a lot of information out there.

What rear axle assembly should I be looking for? I know it must be a 4.10, Ive read gm 14 bolts or Dana 70 but not sure exactly what I’m looking for 

[1980 “foolies” rear axle replacement]

On 2/21/2021 at 12:44 AM, WME said:

That doesn't look very "attached". I know its major humbug, but can you jack up one side and remove the rear tires so we can get an idea of the total rear suspension.

The 2 photos you posted look very sketchy.

Here’s some more pictures without wheel off, I will post some tomorrow when I get back to my shop 

[1980 “foolies” rear axle replacement]

15 hours ago, fred heath said:

OK. Weight is the next thing. Judging from the picture I don’t think you’ll be able to get away with singles on the drive axle. The rear half of the home weight has to be less than 4K lbs to run singles.

I’ve never seen how the tag axles were installed. Take some pictures of the tag axle and how it attaches to the frame. Your tag axle setup is fairly rare. Not a lot of information out there.

 

[1980 “foolies” rear axle replacement]

6 hours ago, fred heath said:

OK. Weight is the next thing. Judging from the picture I don’t think you’ll be able to get away with singles on the drive axle. The rear half of the home weight has to be less than 4K lbs to run singles.

I’ve never seen how the tag axles were installed. Take some pictures of the tag axle and how it attaches to the frame. Your tag axle setup is fairly rare. Not a lot of information out there.

[1980 “foolies” rear axle replacement]

On 2/8/2021 at 6:34 PM, fred heath said:

First thing to do is weigh the home on a commercial truck scale. Get the total weight and weight over the rear axle (rear half) of the home. This will help to determine what axle setup you can use. A picture of your rig will help.

 

[1980 “foolies” rear axle replacement]

2 hours ago, fred heath said:

First thing to do is weigh the home on a commercial truck scale. Get the total weight and weight over the rear axle (rear half) of the home. This will help to determine what axle setup you can use. A picture of your rig will help.

Thanks! I will post a picture tomorrow when I’m at the shop, and look into having it weighed. I am pretty well connected as far as mechanics go, so I trust as long as I find the right axle I can either do the work myself or find someone to help me. The plan is to live in it, so cost isn’t a concern. 

[1980 “foolies” rear axle replacement]

3 minutes ago, fred heath said:

Ok. If you’re going to change to single wheels on your drive axle first thing to do is measure the width (track) of the foolie axle (outside tire to outside tire). 

If it’s 74-75” wide an early GM truck axle will work. Or any truck axle with the same width measurement. You want to have 4.10 gears (same as your current axle). The GM 14 bolt ff axle is geared at 4.10. This is what I used to replace my foolie axle with. You don’t really need a ff axle with the tag setup. But you want to try and find one with the 4.10 gears.

So would I still need to replace the tag axle with a torsion axle? Is it ok to change from dually to single with the tag axle? 

[1980 “foolies” rear axle replacement]

49 minutes ago, WME said:

Yes, 5 lug front and rear.

The big picture is that when you run a single on the stock axle the rig gets a bit more tippy due to the reduced tread. So the torsion axle will be wide enough

to replicate the width of the fake duelies and restore the stability. The extra carry capacity of the torsion axle will allow you to run the LT184/14 that the true 1 tons run.

Your rig will look a bit goofy with the different treads on the two rear axles. Of course running a true 1 ton axle with proper duelies will look just as goofy in the double wide wheel wells.

This is a serious change and it is going to require a lot of study and more than a couple of emails

Thanks for the advice and heads up! I will definitely consider this. Are you familiar with what type of axle would replace the foolie one? I just need to know what I’m looking for in order to find it.

[1980 “foolies” rear axle replacement]

On 2/7/2021 at 11:19 AM, WME said:

Yes, Replace your tag axle with a high capacity Torsion axle and run single tire  on the foolie axle.

No idea if your frame is strong enough

Would this mean I stick with the 5 lug pattern on both the tag and foolie axle?

[Looking for foolie axle replacements 1980 dolphin]

I am looking for the right axle to replace my foolie axle on my 1980 dolphin and I have no idea what I’m looking for, I just need the to know the right axle I can find and swap out to make this thing road safe again! 

[1980 Dolphin]

On 2/7/2021 at 1:33 AM, linda s said:

So just to be clear. You have 8 tires? Man it's bad enough just having to buy 6. I know many will disagree with me but I have never heard of a tag axle breaking. If your careful not to overload it too much I would change nothing. Just always run the duallys with at least 5  lbs less air on the outside dually. What kind of tires are on it now. Lots of times owners put crappy tires on to save money. Your going to be living in this. Crappy tires are a no no. Old tires are a no no too. 6 to 7 years max

Linda S

It's very old, New wheel bearings and an axle inspection are in order. Unless you've got a receipt you have to assume it was never done.

Here are some photos of what I’m talking about with the tag axle. 

[1980 “foolies” rear axle replacement]

5 minutes ago, WME said:

OK this is one of those wild eyed, left field ideas 🤪. Run a single wheel on the Toyota Axle and beef up the tag axle.

The factory tag axles added about 250 lbs of weight and 500lbs of capacity. They used a twisted coil spring

There is a modern design axle that will carry 2000lbs and weight less. Its called a Torsion axle. If your current tag has brakes, these folks can add brakes to the Torsion axle and will build custom lengths.

https://www.southwestwheel.com/c-26-torsion-axles.aspx

So if I’m understanding you correctly, keep the foolie axle, but only use one tire? Then add the torsion axle to the tag axle for more weight capacity? 

[1980 Dolphin]

47 minutes ago, linda s said:

A whole lot of money. 2 grand at least. How big is your camper. I know Dolphin made a little one. If so you could switch to single wheels and some suspension upgrades for less money. Picture? How mechanical are you. Of course if you can do it yourself it's always way better

Linda S

I do not know the length at the moment, I can find out tomorrow. It is the model with the tag axle if that helps. If I am replacing it, do you know what axle would fit? I am somewhat mechanically inclined, but I have friends and family that are mechanics that would help if I found the right axle. I will post pictures tomorrow when I get to my shop! 

[1980 “foolies” rear axle replacement]

I am trying to find out more info on replacing my rear axle for my 1980 dolphin.

 

would buying a rear axle from a model without the recall be acceptable fit? And what about the tag axle? Would anything have to be done with that or just the dually? 
 

if not what axle would be recommended to replace the recalled axle 

[1980 Dolphin]

6 hours ago, linda s said:

First and most important is the axle. Do you have single wheels in the back or duallys.  If they are duallys do you have 6 lugs or 5. 5 lugs means you have the fake duallys which can break the axle

Linda S

It has the 5 lugs, any idea how much of a concern/cost of getting new 6 lugs would be?

[1980 Dolphin]

Just found this forum as I was looking for more info on the 1980 dolphin I just bought and it looks like this is the most helpful place online for it. I am looking for any advice or problems or warnings people might have on this thing. I am remodeling the interior and planning on living in it once it’s finished! Thanks in advance!